50 years of excellence in education - runnels schoola.m. on the softball ﬁ eld. ... brass and...

1www.runnels.org April 2015

April 2015

Runnels Preschool6455 Jefferson HighwayBaton Rouge, LA 70809

225-927-5803

Grades K through 1217255 S. Harrell’s Ferry RoadBaton Rouge, LA 70816225-751-5712

www.runnels.org Reporter

50 Years of Excellence in Education

The oldest independent school in Baton Rouge, Runnels has always been the school for all races, religions and national origins.

As we approach the fi nish line in our 50th anniversary Zip Fit Challenge, event co-organizer and Cross Country and Track coach Julie Fink reports that as of March 25, “Runnels has zipped 28,046.20 miles.” The grey team is still ahead (9,898.3 miles), but the blue team is closing in (9,269 miles) and white is coming on strong (8878.9 miles). “The goal of completing 40,000 miles is in sight,” said Mrs. Fink. “Ev-ery mile logged makes a difference. The time is now for all of us to come together and fi nish strong.” If we meet our administrators’ chal-

We are pleased to an-nounce the creation of an offi cial Runnels School Facebook page. The new

page, which had a soft launch on March 26, will be updated with con-tent from our website and will provide one more way of staying connected with people, news, information and initiatives at Runnels.

Please visit our new page soon and be sure to LIKE us! The Runnels School Alumni Facebook page, started in 2013, will continue in its mission to foster a relationship between the school and its growing ranks of alumni. The page will offer news about graduates, fac-ulty, events and initiatives of interest to our alumni community.

lenge of completing 40,000 miles, Junior and Senior High Prin-cipal and Guidance Counselor Conchetta Foshee and Elemen-tary Principal and Guidance Counselor Marcia Mackay have volunteered to spend a school day zip tied to-gether, and Headmas-ter Dr. Greg Brandao has vowed to run the 2016 Louisiana Half-Marathon in honor of Runnels School. On March 30, kin-

dergarten fi tness teacher Mary Winnett orchestrated a kindergarten/6th-grade buddy activity that coupled fi tness and fun. She planned, organized and set up a 30-minute, 35-station circuit work-out on the elementary playground for

Zip Fit Fun - Cheering each other on at the kindergarten buddy circuit workout on March 30 are (from left) Madisan Milam, Emily Daquano, Harper Guay and Fatima Ahmad.

kindergartners to do along with their 6th-grade buddies. “It was a wonderful way to get in some fi tness and spend quality time with our buddies,” said Mrs. Winnett. Also on hand for the event was Mrs. Fink, who teaches 6th-grade sci-ence. “The circuit workout epitomizes

what we’re trying to do with the Zip Fit Chal-lenge,” she explained. “We want to get students moving and we want to encourage them to build friendships.”

To offi cially mark the conclusion of the Zip Fit Challenge, we’ll hold a school-wide Closing Ceremony Pep Rally on Monday, April 13, at 8:40 a.m. on the softball fi eld. Parents are cordially invited to join us for this special event. “Wear comfy shoes,” Mrs. Fink ad-vised. “We’ll assemble into our teams (grey, blue or white) and walk the last half-mile of the challenge together on the Trail of Dreams.” For the event, participants are invited to wear t-shirts in their team colors or Runnels logo t-shirts. We’ll add everybody’s fi nal half-mile to our zip fi t challenge totals, Mrs. Fink said. At the pep rally, the winning team will be announced and prizes awarded, cheerleaders will cheer, the 6th-12th-Grade Band will play, a light break-fast will be provided by the RPO, and we’ll fi nish up with a fl ourish by running through the varsity Raiders’ big blue infl atable arch, which will be stationed on the softball fi eld.

James Power helps hiskindergarten buddy, Tyler Felton, read instructions for a station on the circuit.

Gearing Up for a Strong Zip Fit Finish

Like Us on Our New Facebook Page

2 www.runnels.org April 2015

Attention Coaches and Club Sponsors: We would like to include a picture of your group in the 2014-15 Runnels yearbook. Please email [email protected] or call the yearbook offi ce

(225-751-2192) to make arrangements for your group photo to be included. If you have news, please send it to [email protected].

The Senior Beta Club inducted 31 new members at a candlelight ceremony held in the Gladys Hague Runnels Theatre in January. Congratulations to freshmen Harrison Bonaventure, Ila Bordelon-Walker, Lyle Bordelon-Walker, Sara Brandenburg, Elizabeth Daigle, Ally Garrity, JP Guillot, Catherine Hen-ning, Kaylen Howe, Bruce Huynh, Natalie Justus, Brandon Kelfstrom, Jourdan Milton, Rosie Pham, Humza Pirzadah, Parker Rhinehart, Kait-lyn Roy, Abigail Scarton, Ashley Stansbury, Austin Stansbury, Michael

Great Showing at District Rally Runnels enjoyed outstanding suc-cess at this year’s District Rally held March 21 at Southeastern Louisiana University. Nine of our competitors fi nished fi rst in their subjects, ten placed second and three came in third. Runnels captured both 1st- and 2nd-place honors in four subjects: Biology I, Computer Science, English I and English IV. In addition, 17 Runnels students qualifi ed for State Rally, which will be held on April 25 at LSU. First-place winners and their subjects were: Grant Connor, Ad-vanced Math-Functions and Statistics; Evie Axelrod, Art, Category 2; Sean Parker, Biology I; Sam Matthews, Chemistry; Robert Law, Computer

Science; Alex Acosta, English I; Taz-kia Shah, English IV; Louise Cramp, Spelling; and Austin Stansbury, World Geography. Earning 2nd place were Daniel Mayeux, Algebra I; Irene Lewis, American History; Jeehan Mikdadi, Biology I; Drake Fromenthal, Com-puter Science; Rosie Pham, English I; Connor Matthews, English IV; Eva Kruger, French III; Kayla Evans, Ge-ometry; Taylor Schoen, Health; and John Wiese, World History. In 3rd place were Andrew Mitch-ell, Calculus; William Lurker, English III; and Joseph Curtis, Introduction to Business Computers. Congratulations to all.

Senior Beta Club Adds New MembersStevenson, Caitlyn Thompson, Sophie Treadaway, Jessie Tregre and Stephen Worsham; sophomore Bea-triz Carmona; juniors Grant Connor, Heather Edwards, Evan Garrity and Robbye March; and senior Andrew Hyde. At the ceremony, inductees recited the Beta pledge and were presented with their club credentials by Beta offi cers Alex Stansbury, president; Kim Lam, vice president; John Wiese, treasurer; and Irene Lewis, secretary. Senior Beta sponsors are Michele Stanfi eld and John Baird.

Newly in-stalled Senior

Beta mem-bers display

their club credentials

after the 2015 induction cer-

emony held in the Gladys Hague Run-nels Theatre in January.

Wyatt Horridge, a 2nd grader at Runnels, was named all-around state champion in his age category at the 2015 Louisiana Men’s State Gymnastics Meet held March 14 at CG’s Gymnastics in Baton Rouge. He also qualifi ed as a member of the Louisiana Men’s State Gymnastics team.

Wyatt, competing at level 5, won 1st place honors in fl oor exercises (10.8), pommel horse (11.9), rings (11.6), vault (9.5), parallel bars (9.4) and high bar (10.9). This is his second consecutive year as state champion. Wyatt is the son of Julie and Bryan Horridge. Third grader Emmy Scott also won gold in a gymnastics competi-tion in March. She was named all-around champion in her age division at the 2015 Lower Level Louisi-ana Gymnastics State Championships held at the Alerio Center in New Orleans March 20-22. Emmy, a level 3 competitor, took 1st in vault (9.775), beam (9.55) and bars (9.675) and 3rd in fl oor exercises (9.425). She is the daughter of Tara and Chad Scott.

Going Gold

Wyatt Horridge with his medals at the 2015 Louisiana Men’s State Gymnastics Meet.

Emmy Scott

Committing to Cursive ... To commem-orate the day (March 23) of offi cially switching from printing to cursive handwriting in 3rd grade, students lined up to sign a “Declaration of Intentions,” agreeing to use their best cursive on all schoolwork from that day on. Above, Reed Miller adds his John Hancock to the document during Mrs. Hall’s English class.


1.

100 Instruments for Schools in Belize ... Run-nels is teaming up with the Louisiana National Guard to help bring the sound of music to schools in Belize. “We’re collecting musical instruments – especially woodwind, brass and percussion instruments – for school-aged children in public schools in Belize,” said Louisiana National Guardsman

and Runnels dad Capt. Joseph Carey, who is facilitating the donations at Runnels. “We’re trying to get ‘100 Instruments in 50 Days,’” he said. That way, they can accompany the next rotation of Louisiana National Guardsmen headed to Belize in May. Belize is Louisiana’s partner country in the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program. The Louisiana National Guard is working with the Belize De-fence Force in this community service project. Because of the high rate of poverty in Belize, access to musical instruments in classrooms is predictably low. “In Belize, they have some music programs in the public schools, but instruments are very expensive and most people just can’t afford them,” said Capt. Carey. “My son plays the saxophone at Runnels,” he added. “I’ve been so impressed with how much he’s learned.” Capt. Carey wants to help deliver that kind of experi-ence to school children in Belize. “Music brings people and nations together,” he added. “It’s an opportunity to communicate.” Here are the instruments that are especially needed: piccolo, fl ute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, trumpet, French horn, tuba, trombone, fl ugelhorn, cornet, saxophones, drums, cymbals, xylophones, drum sticks, carrying harnesses, music stands, etc. If you would like to donate used but playable instruments to the Louisiana National Guard’s “100 Instruments in 50 Days” project, please drop them off on or before April 30, 2015 at Runnels School on the S. Harrell’s Ferry Rd. campus in Room 34, Koenig Hall, which is the offi ce of Headmaster Dr. Greg Brandao. For more information: 139th RSG, Major Michael Stevens (phone: 504-491-3558; email: [email protected]).

High School students Lukas Acos-ta, Max Morgan and Christian Martin have earned the highest achievement award available in American Boy Scouting, the rank of Eagle Scout. Only six percent of all Boy Scouts earn this honor. Lukas, a Runnels senior, was pre-sented with his Eagle Scout award at a Court of Honor held March 15 at Most Blessed Sacrament in Baton Rouge. A member of troop 888, Lukas has been in Scouting since 1st grade. To become Ea-gle Scouts, can-didates must earn 21 merit badges and demonstrate leadership and organizational skills by successfully completing a community, school or church/syna-gogue related service project. For his

service project, Lukas designed and supervised the building of a Little Free Library for the Garden District. In completing the project, he directed six Scouts, including his younger brother, Alex, in its con-struction. Lukas also collected books to be housed in the library. Lukas is the son of Dr. and Mrs. Jay Acosta. Max Morgan, also a senior, re-ceived his Eagle Scout designation at a Court of Honor conducted at Trinity Episcopal Church on March 9. A member of Troop 203 of the Istrouma Area Council, Max has been in Scouting for seven years and has served as senior patrol leader, assistant patrol leader, quartermaster and histo-rian. His troop leader is Ron Miller.

For his project, Max directed a group of Scouts in the construction and installation of a set of wooden garden boxes at Run-nels High School. “They’re for science classes to use for research purposes,”

Max explained. “I wanted to leave my mark at Runnels and create something the science department would be able to use.” Max is the son of Norma Marsh and Craig Morgan. In addition, we recently learned that Runnels sophomore Christian Martin, a member of Troop 888, com-pleted the requirements for becoming an Eagle Scout in the 2013-14 school year. His Court of Honor was held on March 9, 2014. Christian’s Eagle Scout project was part of an outreach activity for the Healing Place Church. “The Healing Place Dream Center,” said Christian’s mom, Theresa Martin, “had received a donation through Wal-Mart of bicy-cles that needed to be put together but didn’t come with all the parts. Christian led a group of Scouts in assembling the bi-cycles.” He also sold the unused parts for scrap metal and donated the money to the “Dream Center.” Christian, who has been involved in Scouting for nine years, is the son of Theresa and Dan Martin. He advanced to the rank of Eagle Scout when he was 14 years old. Congratulations to these students, their troop leaders and families.

Eagle Scout Lukas Acosta

Eagle Scout Max Morgan with his parents, Norma Marsh and Craig Morgan.

Eagle Scout Christian Martin, his sister, Courtney (Class of 2011) and their mom, Theresa Martin.

Soaring to Eagle Scout Rank


We Sincerely Thank ... … Musicians in the Louisiana Celtic Society’s pipe and drum group, Na Cait Dubh (The Black Cat), for visiting the Preschool and Elementary Drama Room on St. Pat-rick’s Day to perform for preschoolers and kinder-gartners. Brendan Rush, a member of the group and the father of Reagan and Riley, brought a bodhran, or Irish drum, for the students to examine and play. … Michelle Hirstius, a children’s author and illustrator from New Orleans, for reading her books about “Juju” the voodoo doll to our K-2nd grade students in the Drama Room on March 25. … Dr. Derrie Perez, grandmother of Stuart Roark, for making a monetary donation to the Elementary Library. … Laura and Chad Roark, parents of Stuart Roark, for purchasing new swings for the elementary playground. … Gina Golda, mother of Sarah and Laura, for coordinat-ing the Elementary Library’s Spring Scholastic Book Fair. … Lisa Daigle, mother of Anna, Eliza-beth and Caroline, for coordinating the Community Coffee – Cash for Schools, General Mills Box Tops for Education,

Preschooler Reagan Rush and her dad, Brendan Rush, with his bodhran at the Preschool on St. Patrick’s Day.

Members of the Future Scientists and Engineers Club with guest speakers from LSU, Dr. Craig Harvey (far left) and Terrica Jamison (far right).

and Campbell’s Labels for Education programs in the Elementary Library, and Elementary Secretary Pamela Culp for clipping and sorting many of the donated labels and box tops. … Tammy Bhat, mother of Lauren, for organizing and scheduling Bookend volunteers who

read to students in grades K - 6. ... Cetin Ates, father of Deniz and Bora, for donating photography equip-ment to our school. ... Molly Hightower, grandmother of Sadie and Lance Kraft, for making and donating playground toys for our elementary students. ... Dr. Craig M. Harvey, Associate Professor and Industrial Engineering Program Director, Department of Me-chanical and Industrial Engineering at LSU and Terrica Jamison, Assistant Re-

cruiting Manager, Offi ce of the Dean, College of En-gineer-ing at LSU, for speak-ing with members

of the Future Scientists and Engineers Club about the engineering program at LSU during lunch activity period on March 10.

“Old-Fashioned Soap Opera” ... Get ready to laugh, cheer and maybe even boo a villain or two when the Junior High presents its spring play, An Old-Fashioned Soap Opera, on April 25 at 7 p.m. in the Elementary Drama Room. Directed by Cristin Ponjuan, the show will feature Anna Man-ning and Jenna Carballo as emcees; Dino Pellissier as Dirty Dan Dinglethorpe; Hanna Cassano as Prell Pureheart; Tyler Robbins as Sudsly Doorite; Ben Hol-liday as Herbal Pureheart; Alyssa Stevison as Dove Pureheart; Amelia Jen-nings as Purell Pureheart; Jackie Hinkle as Pantene Pureheart; Kyra Reeves as Borax Karlof; Ian Shaneyfelt as Spic; Kayla Evans as Span; Emma Tooraen as Bubbles; Natalia Tooraen as Ivory; and Taylor Koontz as Olive Tegrin. Tickets, which are $8.00 each, will be available in the high school offi ce starting April 13. For more information, call 225-751-2192.

Kara Peneguy was among 10 young women honored at the National Charity League Senior Soiree held March 7 at the Baton Rouge Marriott. The seniors of the River Road Chapter of the National Charity League (NCL) together have volunteered more than 236 hours of service in their fi nal year of high school and given more than 1,414 hours of volunteer time to charitable agencies in the Baton Rouge area over a six-year period.

The mis-sion of NCL is to foster moth-er-daughter relationships in a philan-thropic organi-zation that is committed to community service and leadership development, while pro-

viding opportunities for social and cultural experiences. During their years with NCL, the graduating seniors served as volun-teers for such organizations as the American Diabetes Association, Al-zheimer’s Services, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank, ALS Association, MADD, Cancer Services of Greater Baton Rouge, Court Appointed Spe-cial Advocates (CASA) and Volun-teers of America.

Kara Peneguy

Recognized for Service

Advantages of Juicing ... In Junior High Health class, Coach Sam Coates explains the health benefi ts of juicing and demonstrates the correct way to use a juicer.


Sixth grader Marshall Pentes won 3rd place in the Louisiana Children’s Discov-

ery Center’s State Regional Spelling Bee held at South-eastern Louisiana University in Ham-mond on March 7.

He competed against 102 contes-tants from public and private schools in Tangipahoa, East Baton Rouge, Liv-

ingston, St. Helena, Iberville and Avoy-elles parishes. A member of our Spelling Club, Marshall qualifi ed to represent Runnels at the regional competition through a series of spelling bees and written tests held at meetings. Also in the Spelling Club are Caro-line Collins, Brayden Hebert, Ian Duke, Thomas Worsham and Carson Badinger. Club sponsors are Colleen LeBlanc and Lisa Haller. Marshall is the son of Calleen and Howard Pentes.

Super Speller

Marshall Pentes

Nine Run-nels High School stu-dents will have their artwork on display in the 2015 “Real-Life Ex-perience Juried High School Exhibition,” at the Baton Rouge Gallery through April 30, 2015. Ap-proximately 220 works of original art were submitted by high school stu-dents in East Baton Rouge Parish for inclusion in the prestigious competi-tion, but only 50 were chosen. Twelve were from Runnels. The artists and their artwork in the show are Amelia Adams (“Redita-tion”), Evie Axelrod (“Skull”), Grace Carruth-Taylor (“Tree Roots” and

Runnels artists (from bottom left) Amelia Adams, Evie Axelrod, Erin Gleason, Julia Sanders; (back row), Griffi n Gowdy, Ross Stephens, Anna Morgan and Sadie Kraft.

Runnels Artists in B.R. Gallery Show“Fire and Ice”), Erin Gleason (“Watchful”), Griffi n Gowdy (“Listen to the Wind for Me”), Sadie Kraft (“Bookworm” and “Man in Pieces”), Anna Morgan (“Still-Life with Brick Wall” and “Tranquil”), Julia Sanders

(“Sinking Fast”) and Ross Stephens (“Fireworks”). Congratula-tions to these students and their teachers. For more information: http://www.batonrouge-gallery.org/the-real-life-experience/.

Grace Carruth-Taylor

Math Meeting ... Louisiana Mu Alpha Theta (MAO) held its annual state con-vention at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Baton Rouge March 26-28. Runnels sponsors Karen Matthews and Norma Marsh accompanied 18 students to the meeting this year where they competed against more than 800 students from 28 schools around the state. Regan Dean placed 2nd in Trigonometry; Andrew Mitchell took 4th in Mu A Integrations; Wesley Harris was 9th in Functions; and Anna Morgan placed 10th in Puzzlements. In individual tests, Connor Matthews placed 7th in the Mu B division and Andrew Mitchell fi nished 13th in the Mu A division. Both were competing against more than 200 students. In the two-man logic contest known as Gemini, Connor Matthews and Nabil Essajee took 3rd in the Mu B division, while Anna Morgan and Kim Lam took 7th in the Mu A division. In the Descartes games, Alex Matthews tied for 4th, while Lauren Kahn placed 9th. During the Hustle contest, the Runnels team, consisting of Ryan Baird, Regan Dean, Clay Harned and Lee Parker, took 9th place overall. Special thanks go to Ms. Marsh for attending MAO convention as the second sponsor. Also attending this year’s convention were Max Morgan, Taz Shah, Drake Fromenthal, Sam Matthews, Olivia Arcemont and Heather Edwards.

... Preschool Co-directors Janice Leger and Karen Runnels report that concessions sold at the March Pictures in the Plaza raised a total of $1,352.00 for Ms. Christy’s Discovery Garden named in memory of beloved Pre-

school teacher Christy Lawrence. “It was such a precious evening,” said Ms. Leger. “The dream is becoming a reality through the efforts and generous hearts of those who loved Christy.” We sincerely thank the RPO, Pictures in the Plaza coordinator Colleen Spillane, Neena Kelfstrom and the Thespian Club and everyone in our school community who sup-ported the event. We also thank those who made memorial donations for the garden in Ms. Christy’s memory.

At the March “Raider Star” assemblies, Mrs. Ponjuan, Mr. Baird and Mrs. Harris don uniforms to support “Scout’s Night” at Pictures in the Plaza.

School Songs ... Congratulations to the members of our Upper Elementary Chorus and director Johnice Thoms for presenting their “School Days” concert in

the Gladys Hague Runnels Theatre on March 4. The performance included a selection of off-beat school songs like “I’ve Lost My Homework” and “My Sha-la-la-la-Locker’s Stuck” as well as more traditional numbers like our school’s alma mater and fi ght song.

Helping Ms. Christy’s Garden Grow


Seniors Dillon Dodge (left) and Nabil Essajee (right) have been named to the All-Academic Composite Powerlifting Team. With them is head powerlifting coach Lonnie Leger.

What’s Happening ...

Teens with Talent ... Kudos to the student contestants appearing in our 2015 Junior and Senior High Talent Show held Feb. 27 in the Gladys Hague Runnels Theatre. Sponsored by the 10th grade class, sophomore John Wiese and senior Caleb Manning did duty as on-stage emcees. The judges included teachers Neena Kelfstrom, Cristin Ponjuan, Shanna Drescher, Jill Swetnam, Johnice Thoms, Mary Camille Maddox and 10th grade sponsor Tish Tooraen. The winners were: 1st place ($50 prize) – John Wiese and Jordan Mor-ris, sax and bass original; 2nd place ($30 prize) – Sean Parker, Luc Kharey and Will Harrell, “Solid Ground”; and 3rd place – Kara Peneguy ($20 prize), “Two Hearts.” Student’s Choice winners were: 1st place ($25 prize) - Sean Parker, Luc Kharey and Will Harrell, “Solid Ground”; 2nd place ($10 prize) – Clay Harned, Nick Saunders, Spencer Taylor, Wesley Harris and Kelsey Mayes, Camera Supplies in “House of Gold”; and 3rd place ($5 prize) – Noah Guillory, “Invisible.” Also competing were Irene Lewis, Max Morgan, Anna Arceneaux, Jas-mine Felton, Ryan Baird, Jarrett LeBonne, Allie Nicholson, Rachel Yura, Alex Matthews and Nicole Gardana. We sincerely thank the 10th grade class and Mrs. Toorean for organizing the production and congratulate the winners and contestants.

Cellists (from left) Will Harrell, Luc Kharey and Sean Parker won 1st place in Student’s Choice and 2nd place in Judge’s Choice at the 2015 Talent Show.

Flappers and Rappers ... The kindergarten class took us for a stroll down memory lane in their spring musical, Yesterday’s Songs. Students crooned “Harvest Moon,” danced the “Charleston,’ celebrated the ‘50s with poodle skirts and “Rock Around the Clock” and delivered a rap song with style and bling. Congratula-tions to the performers, their teach-ers, accompanist Gladys Runnels and director Laura Roark. To download photos: log on to www.runnels.org, go to Faculty/Microsite List/Yearbook and click on Kindergarten Musical.

All-Academic Composite Scholars ... Student-athletes maintaining the highest grade point averages among all athletes in their re-

spective sports during their academic careers while participating in varsity high school athletics are named to All-Academic Composite Teams. Congratulations to the following Runnels seniors earning this honor for spring sports: Connor Matthews and Ryan Baird, All-Academic Com-posite Bowling Team; Nabil Essajee, All-Academic Outdoor Track and Field Team and All-Academic Power-lifting; Dillon Dodge, All Academic Powerlifting Team; and Thomas My-ers, All-Academic Composite Base-ball Team 2A.

Taylor Kennedy wearing green for a St. Patrick’s Day match.

Golf Season in Full Swing ...The Lady Raider Varsity Golf team turned in a top performance in a four-team match at Webb Park on March 25, with senior Taylor Kennedy earn-ing 1st-place honors individually. In a March 16 match at Pelican Point, the Varsity Raiders fi nished 1st against Ascension Catholic and Central. Senior Grant Welch won 1st overall, shooting a 32. Dylan Miller,

Ryan Lam and Michael Lock-hart all shot a 43, ending up in a three-way tie for 3rd place.


On Tuesday, 4/21 from 5-8 p.m.

Runnels School

14929 Market St. Baton Rouge, LA 70817

Help Raise New Bleachers in Our Gym with a Night Out at Raising Cane’s on Coursey

The Runnels Booster Club is raising funds to install permanent, retract-able “Raider blue” bleachers in our gym this summer. To help “Build the Bleachers,” we’re holding a special fundraiser at Raising Cane’s (Coursey and Market St.) on Tuesday, April 21, from 5-8 p.m. Mention Runnels when you place your order and 15 percent of sales will go to the Runnels Booster Club. It’s a great way to support our school’s athletic program and enjoy a night out with friends and family.

What’s Happening ...

Track & Field News ... At the St. Thomas Aquinas Judy Baehr Relay on March 14, our Track and Field team turned in impressive performanc-es. Dean Campbell won the Outstand-ing Track Athlete award by placing 1st in the 1600m and 3rd in the 3200m. Trent Tucker placed 3rd in discus; Andrew Hyde was 5th in javelin; Adam Howe fi nished 6th in the 800m; and the boys’ 4x400 team (Adam Howe, Grant Fink, Trent Tucker and Mason War-ren) took 3rd place. On the girls’ team, Annie Fink fi nished 2nd in the 3200m and 6th in the 1600m. The boys’ team placed 6th overall and the girls’ team fi nished 11th. Runnels also had some top fi n-ishers at the Red Stick Classic held March 19 at Broadmoor High School. In the boys’ competition, Sam Mat-thews placed 1st in the 3200m; Andrew Hyde placed 5th in javelin and Dean Campbell fi nished 6th in the 1600m. On the girls’ team, Annie Fink placed 2nd in the 3200m, London De-shotels took 3rd in javelin, and Micah

Roper’ was 5th in the 1600m. In the Bat Gourrier Relays held on March 26 at Broad-moor, Annie Fink earned 2nd place in the 3200m, 4th in the long jump and 5th in the

800m; Kaylen Howe was 4th in the 1600m and 5th in the 3200m; and Elle Pickrell placed 5th in javelin. On the boys’ team, Adam Howe placed 6th in the 3200m.

London Deshotels gets fi tted for a letterman’s jacket in the gym.


March Madness Teacher Appreciation a Slam Dunk Success ... The RPO hit multiple 3-pointers with this year’s March Madness Teacher Appreciation celebra-tion. Faculty and staff were truly overwhelmed by the gen-erosity, thoughtfulness, kindness and creativity that inspired each and every event. We loved the “All-Star Line-up” of breakfasts, lunches, raffles and drawings scheduled each Wednesday in March and sincerely thank the RPO, Nation-al Honor Society and Beta Club for providing them. We extend our grateful thanks to RPO Teacher Ap-preciation chairs Kristy Mayes and Gail Sherman, Shasta and Dustin Felton of Rice & Roux, Marlyn “Boo” Moore of Don’s Seafood, Bryan Horridge of Cajun Prince for themed t-shirts, Jay Grace of Louisiana Fire Extinguishers for the helium tank, Sameena Essajee, Stacie Burke, Amy Sand-ers, Tami LaBonne, RPO treasurer Karen Rhinehart, RPO president Nicole Latiolais, Gina Golda, Sally Duet and RPO grade coordinators Tiffany Slaton, Shasta Felton, Blake Stevenson, Allyson Guay, Caroline Hader, Tammy Bhat, Su-zanne LeBlanc, Ona Robbins, Brooke Yura, Wendy Milam, Colleen Spillane, Michelle Smith, Lisa Daigle, Monique Howe, Jackie Lurker, Dana Kahn and Teresa Peneguy.

Alumni News ... Bret Sanner (Class of 2001) will re-ceive his Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from Wash-ington University in St. Louis this May. He is the son of

kindergarten art teacher Lisa Sanner and Dr. Bill Sanner.

... Chris Alexander (Class of 2012) has been recognized as the Outstanding Junior in the College of Science and Technology by the Southeastern Louisiana University Chapter of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. He will be presented with an award certificate and a cash hono-

rarium at the Phi Kappa Phi Spring Banquet on April 30 at Southeastern. Chris is the son of David and Karen Alexander.

All Hail! ... Kudos to our glorious A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum cast, crew and band. We sincerely thank everyone who contributed to the success of this junior and senior high drama department production. To down-load photos: log in to www.runnels.org, go to “Faculty/Micro-site List/ Runnels Yearbook/A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

Runnels Community Scrapbook

Chris Alexander

Serving Others ... Members of the Runnels Varsity Tennis team volunteered as ball boys and girls at the Cajun Classic Wheelchair Tennis Tournament held at the Paula G. Manship YMCA in March. “We had another amazing experience (3rd straight year) volunteering at the Cajun Classic Wheelchair Tournament on March 26,” said Runnels tennis coach Kath-rin Sieberth. “I am abundantly proud of my team and the way they served these phenomenal athletes! Whatever was needed, there was a willing Raider to help.”

Major Decisions ... College and Career Choices stu-dents visited with career counselors, LSU student ambassa-dors and employer relations professionals at the LSU Olinde Career Center on March 26. They learned the ins and outs of choosing a major, picked up information about employers who recruit at LSU and looked over the Career Center’s “Dress to Geaux” program, which helps students find out what outfits are appropriate for different types of job interviews. Students also met with a student ambassador from the Admissions Office who shared information about the admis-sions process and various programs available at LSU.


APRIL 2 Band Solo and Ensemble Festival 2 Sr. Beta Field Trip to Preschool 2 Preschool Easter Egg Hunt (9:10 a.m., 3s; 9:50 a.m., 2s; 10:30 a.m., Pre-Ks) 2 Spring Fling Parties (12:10 p.m., grades 4-6; 1:20 p.m., grades 1-3; 2:00 p.m., K) 3-10 Spring Break 13 School Resumes 13 Zip Fit Pep Rally 14 11th-Grade Field Trip to WWII Museum 15 Kindergarten Field Trip to Landry Poche Strawberry Farm 15 7th-Grade Field Trip to Magnolia Mound 15 Biology II Field Trip to Baton Rouge Zoo 15 U.S. Army War College Eisenhower Lecture Series for grades 11-12 16 4th-Grade Reading Carnival 16 Alcohol and Tobacco Control Presentation for grades 7-12 17 3rd-Grade “Trip Around the World” 17 Junior and Senior High Harp Concert 18 Junior and Senior High Prom 20-21 Youth Legislature Convention, grades 7-820-21 Senior Fun Day at Mango’s 21 Elementary Harp Concert 24 Kindergarten Fairy Tale Luncheon 24 Jr. High Play - An Old-Fashioned Soap Opera 25 State Literary Rally at LSU 26 Runnels Spring Art Show 29 Science Explorium 30 Spring OLOL Blood Drive (8 a.m.-2 p.m.) 30 Raider Star Drawings (8:30 a.m., grades 1-3 and 10:10 a.m., grades 4-6) 30 6th-12th Grade Band Concert 30 Runnels Spring Blood DriveMAY 1 Performing Arts - Junior and Senior High 2 An Evening with the Performing Arts 4 AP Exams: Chemistry, Environmental Science and Psychology 4 4th and 5th Grade Band Concert 5 AP Exams: Calculus AB and Calculus BC AP 5 Junior and Senior High Academic Awards Ceremony 5 String Orchestra Concert (all grades) 6 AP Exam: 12th Grade English Literature and Composition and Physics I 6 Elementary Chorus Concert 7 AP Exam: Spanish Language 7-8 Junior Beta State Convention 8 AP Exam: U.S. History AP

For complete calendar information, go to the Runnels Master Calendar at www.runnels.org.

Kudos To... It’s a Date!

Please give the gift of life by donating blood when the Our Lady of the Lake Blood-mobile makes a stop on our Harrell’s Ferry Rd. campus on Th ursday, April 30, from 8 a.m. -2 p.m. Each donor will receive a t-shirt and

refreshments. For more information, visit the Nurses’ Microsite at www.runnels.org or call 225-756-5837.

Spring Blood Drive April 30

... Seniors Sadie Kraft and Alex Stansbury for being selected as recipients of 2015 National Beta Scholarships. ... Sadie Kraft and Olivia Arboneaux for making First Team All-Metro and Second Team-All Metro, respectively, in girls’ soccer. ... The 1st-grade Daisies (troop 10348) for donating 41 boxes of Girl Scout cookies to the Baton Rouge Association of Retarded Citizens through the Gift of Caring program. ... Kara Peneguy for being selected to compete in the House of Blues Forward Foundation’s Bringin’ Down the House talent competition for teens in New Orleans on April 21. She won 1st place in last year’s show. If you would like to attend this live concert, contact Kara at [email protected] for free tickets. ... Fifth graders Lindsey Huynh (1st place), Emily Schacht (2nd place) and Elizabeth Penniman (3rd place) for

memorizing the most digits of Pi in Mrs. Haller’s Ad-vanced Math Pi Day contest on March 15. Ju-nior and Senior High Mu Alpha Theta members also celebrated Pi Day with recitations of Pi, taking unit circle timed tests, making a

Pi chain where the colors represented the numbers, eating Pi shaped food, reciting Pi poetry and enjoying Pi puns. ... The Runnels Junior Classical League (JCL) for placing 3rd in the Overall Club Sweepstakes (club winning largest number of awards in all categories) at the Louisiana Junior Classical League convention held March 6-8 at the Holiday Inn-South. Runnels also took 1st in T-shirt, Banner and Boys’ Relay, 2nd in Creative Drama, 3rd in Classical Drama, 4th in Publicity and 5th in Chariot. Sam Matthews placed 8th and Connor Matthews, 9th in Individual Sweepstakes, competing against 400 students.Connor also fi nished 3rd in the Individual Academ-ic Sweepstakes, and Sam won 1st place in the Individual Olympica Sweepstakes.

Hannah Bienvenue cele-brates Pi Day by making a colored paper Pi chain at a Mu Alpha Theta lunchtime party on March 15.

Awards also went to: 1st place - Luc Kharey, Alex Matthews, Connor Mat-thews, Sam Matthews, Max Mor-gan and Ben Sehring; 2nd place - Henry Forgey, Alex Morgan, Anna Morgan and Caitlyn Moore; 3rd place - Griffi n Gowdy, Nathan Fairley, Andrew Mitchell and Marisa Russo. Also attending the convention were Heather Edwards, Nabil Essajee, Jesse Stephens and Ross Stephens. Runnels Latin teacher Ann Ostrom served as convention chair, and sponsors Maggie Wrenn and Michele Richardson assisted her and served as Academic chairs. ... John Wiese for winning 1st place in the National History Day Regional Competition held at the West Baton Rouge Museum on March 7. His entry was a video documentary entitled “Paul Mauser: A Master Gunsmith.” The video was submitted as an independent entry with Matt Gallant. They now advance to the state competition, which will be held at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans in April. ... Our elementary drama students for stellar performances in a dazzling array of

plays staged in the Dra-ma Room in March. Students in 1A, 1B and 1C per-formed The Mice from Outer Space (at left); 3A students

starred in Three of a Kind; and the 4th-6th grade drama students produced The Greek Mythology Olympiaganza. Director Cristin Ponjuan said the stu-dents worked very hard and learned a great deal in preparing for the shows. “It’s been so much fun to watch them explore and grow in drama class this quarter.”

Runnels JCL’ers compete in the Toga Parade at the state convention.


Annie, Jr. Production Summer Camp at Runnels ... The Runnels Theatre Department will hold a summer production camp, Annie, Jr. Camp will be held June 15-26 from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. on the S. Harrell’s Ferry Rd. campus. Two camp performances and one public performance will be presented in the Gladys Hague Runnels Theatre on June 25 and 26. Aspiring actors and actresses entering 2nd – 9th grades in the 2015-2016 school year are invited to participate. We’ll have many roles for boys and girls and tons of fun singing, dancing and acting! The camp will be led by three experienced theatre professional and teaching artists: Neena Kelfstrom, Cristin Ponjuan and Jorge Ponjuan. Camp tuition includes a t-shirt, DVD of the production and two complimentary tickets to the Friday public performance. The early-bird rate (until May 1) is $350.00 for the fi rst child and $340.00 for each additional sibling. After May 1, the camp rate is $375.00 for the fi rst child and $365.00 for each additional sibling. Need more information? Email: [email protected]

Some Memories of March

50 years of excellence in education - runnels schoola.m. on the softball ﬁ eld. ... brass and...

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